Extinction Rebellion targets Victoria Beckham's London fashion show

Victoria Beckham unveiled a timelessly chic collection in the ornate court of Britain's Foreign Office on Sunday as environmental demonstrators shut the road outside to protest waste created by fast fashion.

The fashion pack were forced to pass their handbags through metal detectors before entering the majestic Durbar Court, where they sat among doric columns of polished granite.

The models sashaying along the marble floor wore long silk dresses in powder pink or purple, and blouses with big collars and houndstooth jackets for an elegant seventies look.

Beckham's husband, ex-footballer David, and their four children -- Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper -- were in the front row to watch, alongside Anna Wintour.

Outside, around 20 Extinction Rebellion activists intercepted guests in a protest against fast fashion, which critics say is one of the world's most polluting industries.

"We are here to protest against that endless obsession with buying new clothes," one said as they held up signs declaiming the "ugly truth about fashion".

'A new kind of sexy'

After years of showing in New York, Beckham made her debut in London last year to celebrate a decade since the launch of her eponymous label.

The clothes this season were in beige, camel or pale yellow, contrasted with grass green or a bright purple, while she also introduced some lively prints set against a darker background.

"The prints are bold, almost luminous... they're not like anything we've done before," she said.

"It adds up to a new kind of sexy -- no restriction, not much skin on show but a sense of the body and of the woman inside.

Agence France-Presse